Ice cold
by shotgunequalssammy
Summary: Benny joins the Winchesters on a hunt for a Lappish water spirit, but the hunt goes awry. The vampire and Sam are locked in a cave of ice with no way out.


**Somehow, someone on tumblr turned sambenny into a thing. I was kidnapped by them and therefor this happened.**

**Half (sort of)friendship and half shippy. **

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"Somehow I don't think this was part of the plan," Benny remarks. It's not often he joins the Winchester boys on their hunts, but for some reason he decided to come with them on this one. It was, supposedly, a water spirit gone rogue – nothing dangerous. Hardly worth mentioning, not if you're a big and bad hunter like the Winchesters. So; easy hunt then.

Which is why Benny and Sam are stuck in a cave made completely out of ice, the walls are smooth and Benny's vampire strength has nothing on them.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself," Sam replies.

"I'm just sayin' – you'd think you and Dean would know better than to be tricked by a water spirit, which, _oh_! It wasn't really a water spirit, considering we're trapped in ice."

Sam sends him a glare that makes Benny's lips twitch. "For your information, it's a vengeful Lappish water spirit, called _cacce-haldde_ or _kul_. Did I mention that they're only spotted in northern Europe? And that we know almost nothing about them? Nothing in the lore said anything about them trapping their victims in ice."

"Don't get your panties in a twist, sugar. I'm sure we'll find a way to pass the time." Benny wiggles his eyebrows which only deepens Sam's disapproving frown. He checks his phone, obviously searching for a signal.

"Nothing. If we can't find a way to get us out we'll just have to wait for Dean to find us."

"Uh-huh. So; twenty questions?"

**oOo**

Only, Dean's taking his sweet time. The cold doesn't bother Benny _(but then again, he is sort of not-alive)_ but he's neither blind nor stupid. Sam's pacing back and forth, huffing out white clouds of breath while patting his arms, trying to keep warm.

"So I guess this isn't the time to joke about sharing body heat," Benny says from his position on the ice floor.

"You don't _have_ any body heat," Sam deadpans without sparing him a glance. His cheeks are rosy from the cold and the tips of his ears are shining red.

"Hey, don't sugarcoat it," the vampire gives a fake sniffle_ (Sam makes a show of ignoring that too)_.

**oOo**

The body-heat-sharing-joke wasn't even funny at first, and even less now. They've been stuck in the cave for hours, and while Benny doesn't see himself as a remotely patient guy, at least the cold can't harm him.

Sam, on the other hand…

He's grown tired of the pacing and is huddled up against the ice wall, his cheeks have lost the rosy tint and are now deadly pale and his entire form is shuddering. Benny often finds himself thinking about the time when he was human, but never as much as now. At least then he'd have some warmth to share, but now he can only watch as Sam's eyes slowly lose more and more focus.

"Oi, Sam," he calls and walks up to the hunter, shaking his shoulder. "Time to go for a walk."

He pretty much drags the taller man to his feet and makes him walk a few rounds in the little cave, and while it doesn't give Sam any more color he doesn't look as dead as before.

He's still imitating a chimney with the steady puffs of air he lets out into the cold air. Benny is afraid that he'll stop.

**oOo**

"Well darling," Benny drawls, doing his best to sound unconcerned while resting a hand against Sam's pale cheek. "I'd say we're even about the nonexistent body heat now."

He's tucked his own coat around Sam, but it's hardly helping.

**oOo**

He's lost track of time. He only knows that they've been stuck for far too long after the _cacce-something_ sealed them in there, and god knows where Dean is.

"Dean!" Benny shouts at the wall he guesses is facing the outside world. "Brother, I swear, if you've left us here to visit the lovely barmaid I'll bash your head in." His knuckles are scraped and bloody from trying to break through the wall and he gives the ice another well-placed kick. "Dean!"

He turns back to Sam and swears softly. Benny crouches down and pats the hunter's face. "Can't turn my back for a second… No sleeping here, sugar." Sam blinks blearily up at him but makes no move to do anything else. Benny rubs his arms, trying to turn the friction into some warmth. "Come on now. Your brother's gonna kill us both if you don't stay awake. Yeah, there you go, move a bit, lil pumpkin – ah, there it is! Glaring is good, glaring means you're awake. Pumpkin."

Sam's lips are adopting a pale blue tone that humans shouldn't have and his body isn't shivering anymore. Benny doesn't have to be human to know that's a bad thing.

**oOo**

Benny hasn't even managed to crack the ice containing them.

The blood pumping through Sam's veins is slowing.

**oOo**

Benny's talking nonsense to Sam and regularly shaking the confused hunter to awareness when he finally hears a voice. Somewhere behind the ice someone's shouting _Sammy_ repeatedly, soon to be followed by the sound of something heavy hitting against the ice wall from the other side. Cracks start spreading and Benny hovers over Sam, cautious if the ice will fall down on them.

When Dean finally breaks through the ice, cheeks red and breathing heavily, Benny has already swept one arm around Sam's shoulders and one arm under his knees.

He answers Dean's gaze with a shortly uttered _"hypothermia"_ which is enough to get Dean moving.

They load Sam into the Impala's backseat and Dean immediately climbs in with him, armed with blankets and body heat _(Benny feels a short stab of bitterness)._ Benny starts the car and turns up the heat, driving towards the bunker while Dean's trying to warm his brother.

**oOo**

Turns out that Dean had managed to track down the water spirit and kill it within three hours after Sam and Benny got locked in, but the magic surrounding the ice hadn't loosened its grip. He had had to make quite a few calls and get together a long ritual before he could get them out, and right in time it was. Dean hasn't let Sam leave his bed yet and keeps giving him hot water bottles.

Benny meets Castiel in the kitchen and raises an eyebrow at the angel's attempt at making soup.

"Sam is cold," is the only explanation Castiel gives him. "Dean says he has to eat and drink something warm."

"Buddy… I think I should take over. Unlike you, I actually know how to cook."

"You're a vampire. You don't eat."

"You're an angel. You don't eat. I used to be human - I can assure you that you used the wrong measure for the salt." It doesn't take much more convincing to let Benny handle the soup instead _(he has to make it from scratch)_.

Sam looks fairly surprised to see Benny come into his room – even more when he sees the soup.

"Make sure to thank me," he says as he places the bowl in Sam's lap before he can try to leave the bed. "I just saved you from the angel's cooking from hell."

"You made this?"

"No need to look suspicious. I'll have you know I'm a great cook."

"Huh. It… smells good." Sam fiddles with the spoon and clears his throat. "You, um, forgot to take this back." He reaches over the edge of the bed _(Benny automatically takes a step forward in case he has to save the soup)_ and lifts a coat from the floor. He holds it out to Benny and it takes him a moment to realize it's his own coat. "Thanks for… yeah."

"No problem. Maybe I just like seeing you in my clothes, darling."

Sam can pretend all he wants that the blush is caused by the heating blanket and the hot water bottles.

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**Reviews are, as always, loved as much as I love chocolate cookies.**


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